China economic growth target set below 5% for the first time at key meeting

Al JazeeraEN 3 min read 100% complete by Erin HaleMarch 5, 2026 at 07:49 AM

AI Summary

medium article 3 min

At the National People's Congress in Beijing on March 5, 2026, China set a GDP growth target of 4.5 to 5 percent for the year. This target, revealed in a government report reviewed by Xinhua, is lower than previous goals of "around 5 percent" and reflects the country's ongoing economic slowdown. The slowdown is partly attributed to the collapse of the property sector. China aims to shift its economic focus from manufacturing and exports to consumption and advanced technology, while also increasing industrial self-reliance. China also intends to expand defense spending by 7 percent.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

United States 35% Economist Intelligence Unit 40% Reuters ×240% Tianchen Xu ×340% Xinhua News Agency 50% Beijing ×260% Li Qiang 70% National People’s Congress (NPC) ×385% China ×895%

Keywords

china economic growth 100% gdp target 90% economic slowdown 80% national people's congress 70% property sector 60% consumption 50% defence spending 50% industrial self-reliance 40% deflationary pressure 40%